For thousands of years, animals have been a constant presence in the lives of humans. Whether they be hunters or haunters, whether they serve as sources of food and amusement or companionship, animal spirits are a constant presence in literature and life.

Then think about a whale. Don't think about Monstro (a cartoon character). Forget about freeing Willy from captivity.

Think about a big white whale like a Migaloo or an albino sperm whale that has become the unhealthy obsession of delusional sea captain. A fearsome rather than cuddly creature whose legend lives on 160 years after its story was first published by Herman Melville.

Think about the kind of epic storytelling required to tell the whale of a tale known as Moby-Dick. Then try putting it to music.

Last year I had the opportunity to sit in on a master class Heggie conducted with voice students at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music during which he showed a remarkable generosity of spirit to young musicians attempting to interpret his art songs. Whereas some contemporary opera composers see the voice as merely another instrument, Heggie genuinely loves singers and wants to give them the best support imaginable.

It's rare to see a contemporary composer interacting with music students in such a setting, but Heggie (who lives in San Francisco) is a man of astonishing sensitivity when it comes to coloring a phrase and finding its true meaning. In the following video clip, David Perry interviews Heggie on his popular Comcast program, Ten Percent LGBT TV.

From the opening moments of the production, Gavan Swift's lighting and Elaine J. McCarthy's visual projections lay a heavy artistic footprint on the action. What seems like bubbles rising to the ocean's surface give way to a sky full of stars until a sailing ship looms into sight. Much of this is seen from the waterline, either through the exhausted eyes of young Greenhorn (Stephen Costello) who is adrift on Queequeg's coffin or, perhaps, through the eyes of a vengeful whale. The following preview clip from the Calgary Opera's production gives a taste of how McCarthy's projections heighten the performance's dramatic tension.

Moby-Dick calls for a massive ensemble effort, which was immensely aided by the work of San Francisco Opera's chorus master, Ian Robertson. While there are hearty supporting roles for Talise Trevigne (Pip), Matthew O’Neill (third mate Flask), and ever garrulous Robert Orth (second mate Stubb), Heggie's score also features some glorious writing for the opera's four male leads.

Helping to frame the dramatic experience along every step of the journey through Heggie's score were conductor Patrick Summers (who has helmed the world premieres of all of Heggie's operas) and set designer Robert Brill, whose creative solutions for moving the action back and forth between the ship's decks and the water make brilliant use of a jigsaw-puzzle approach to putting the Pequod onstage.